August 2009

Well, I figured better late than never for this month's blog. It's been kind of a reflective month for some reason, and in turn, I've been flip-flopping on which topic I was going to go with for August? Anyways, enough rambling...

I'd like to share a unique set of experiences I had (in keeping with the theme of reflection), which all tie into one, and break them up into parts. Part one now, with other parts to come, later. And as I write each part, there will be an image of pertinence.

Pt. 1

During the fall of 1994, my first year at Humber College if my math is correct, I thought of a personal project to pursue outside of my photographic studies. I would load up my 35mm camera, a few rolls of Kodak TMAX P32000, and in the dead of winter and blustery cold go to the heart of downtown Toronto and wander around until my fingers or my camera was frozen. Whichever happened first. As a matter of truth, it was always my fingers, and never my camera. Gotta love those Nikons!

I would intentionally rate my film at 3200, and sometimes on rare occasions I would push it one stop to ISO 6400, to create a high contrast and purposefully grainy image. And when flash was needed, it was always on camera and direct; the antithesis of beauty lighting. All because I wanted to use these tools to interpret what I felt were parallel conditions: cold, harsh, and a bit bleak. The experience and the pursuant images opened up a world foreign to me. And the experiences still resonate. My hope is that the people I met those two winters have gone on to better lives - a step up if you will - but I doubt that has been the case for most. Some were gracious enough to let me photograph them, while others were content with some conversation. In only rare instances, much to my surprise, would they not want to be bothered. The image contained in this blog most likely fell into the latter category. It was one of the first images I snapped in the winter of '94.